Manchester police officer charged in domestic case

HOOKSETT — A veteran Manchester police officer was arrested Tuesday and charged with assault on Tuesday, stemming from a domestic-related incident at his Hooksett home in April, Hooksett police said.

Police said William Soucy, 52, turned himself in to police and was charged with misdemeanor assault. He was booked and released on his own recognizance.

Soucy’s pedigree goes deep into the department. His younger brother is a lieutenant, and his uncle, Peter Favreau, was a former Manchester police chief.

Soucy is a Manchester police patrolman and will be placed on modified working conditions, said Assistant Chief Nick Willard. Such conditions typically mirror bail restrictions, and Willard said police must review the bail restrictions before he could discuss details of Soucy’s work limitations.

Willard said the victim is Soucy’s former girlfriend. They did not live together, he said.

A two-sentence statement about the arrest gives few details of the assault.

But the alleged victim’s lawyer, Manchester alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur, said Soucy reportedly placed his forearm on the woman’s chest to brace her against the wall and prevent her from leaving his apartment.

The 34-year-old Manchester resident eventually broke free and ran from the house. The day was April 1, Levasseur said.

Her finger was injured and she received bruises from the incident, said Levasseur, a high-profile critic of the department.

Manchester police and Levasseur give different accounts of what happened next.

Levasseur said his client reported the incident to Manchester police the following day. They told her to go to Hooksett police, which she did. But nothing became of it, so she contacted Levasseur, he said.

“No one would arrest him. No one would get back to her. She was afraid,” Levasseur said. He said he initially advocated on her behalf as an alderman, but then took the case as her lawyer.

He said she is contemplating a civil lawsuit against Soucy once the criminal case is resolved.

Willard said Manchester police heard about allegations of a domestic assault from a relative of the alleged victim, shortly after the incident took place.

Manchester police had to locate the alleged victim, and when she was reluctant to speak they provided her with victim counseling services through the YWCA. Eventually, she decided to speak to police, Willard said.

Once police determined the incident took place in Hooksett, they contacted Hooksett police to let them know of the possible crime, Willard said.“

It’s a duty on us as law enforcement officers to make sure the victim is protected, and the conduct of our officers is investigated,” Willard said.

He said Levasseur’s account of the incident is a distortion, which will harm the alleged victim’s case.

“If there’s representation she came to us and we blew her off and sent her to Hooksett, he’s distorting the facts,” Willard said.